The Buffalo Bills have one of the league’s fast-rising defensive tackles in second-year player Deone Walker. It’s still amazing that the Bills were able to get him in the 4th round of last year’s NFL Draft out of Kentucky. Due to a back injury he dealt with throughout the 2024 season in college, that caused his stock to drop.
However, his 2023 season back at Kentucky put him in a first-round selection conversion as he had 55 total tackles that included 7.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.
Walker has been beyond impressive for the Bills since Week 1 of the 2025 season where he has helped plug up the middle of the trenches and demonstrated to have a great interior pass rush. He ended last season with 39 total tackles along with 4 pass deflections, and he also managed to get an interception against the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Deone Walker is off to another fast start in 2026
Through the Bills' first two games, Walker has picked up where he left off last season. He has been consistently creating pressure up the middle against the Texans and Lions. There have been plenty of times where Walker either does a bull rush, or uses his quickness that he has to get around the guy in front of him to cause a disruption.
In Week 1 against the Texans, he made one of the biggest clutch plays late in the 4th quarter when he sacked C.J. Stroud to push them away from the endzone, and then Greg Rousseau sealed the game with a strip-sack to beat Houston. Walker finished that game with 6 total tackles.
Then this past Thursday against the Lions, Walker had only one tackle. However, he had 3 pass deflections and 3 QB hits on Jared Goff. The start to his sophomore year has been a fantastic one, and it's caught the attention of an All-Pro edge rusher up in the NFC North.
Micah Parsons takes notice to Deone Walker's dominance
Rookie Watch on X (@RookieWatxh) gave a shoutout to Walker and reported that there is an NFL scout who is a "hybrid" of Chris Jones from the Chiefs and Jordan Davis of the Eagles. Then Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons reposted it and put three fire emojis, showing his appreciation for Walker.
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) September 19, 2026
Walker is a rising star in the league and he hasn’t even hit his prime yet. There’s still plenty of room for him to grow but he also looks unstoppable in Buffalo’s defense. The Bills have Walker on his rookie contract through the 2028 season so they have this year and then the next two seasons on a cheap contract.
However, if he continues at the level he is playing at, the Bills are going to need to extend him as quickly as possible after the 2027 season. He has become so valuable to this defense and he is the future of the defensive line in Buffalo.
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